Mural - Shiva and Shakti

The mural at the St Matthews Studio depicts Shiva (the male dancing figure on the left) and Durga (the female figure seated on a tiger on the right).  In the yoga tradition, Shiva is the primordial yogi, the first yoga teacher from the beginning of time. Shiva is the source of the yoga tradition.  Shiva is also one of the Tridev, the three main deities in Hinduism, who are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; and represent the divine aspects of Creation, Preservation and Dissolution.

Here, Shiva is shown in his traditional yogic form. Shiva does not wear silks and jewels; he has long dreadlocks, is clothed in a tiger skin, and adorns Himself with living serpents and strands of seeds from the rudraksha tree. The crescent moon is His crest-jewel.

In his role as Nataraj, the Divine Dancer, He performs the Tandava, the cosmic dance of Creation, Maintenance and Dissolution, dancing upon the body of Apasmara, the demon of Forgetfulness. With the drum in Shiva's left hand he brings material creation into existence. The fire in his right hand symbolizes time and change that dissolves everything away. The upraised hand makes the gesture of fearlessness.  Finally, the fourth hand points to his upraised foot which represents the grace-bestowing power of yoga and liberation, the goal of yoga practice.

On the right of the mural is Durga, Shiva's consort - the Goddess. She is shown as a beautiful woman riding on a tiger, which symbolizes her mighty power. She holds many weapons in her hands with which she battles the inner enemies of Desire, Anger, Greed, Envy, Arrogance and Delusion.  She represents the transformative power of yoga.

A form of Durga called Camundi is the patron Goddess of the city of Mysore. Her temple sits at the top of Camundi hill overlooking the city.  Once a year during the month of October she is brought out to tour Mysore in a great procession for the celebration of Dasara.  She is placed in a silver palanquin carried by an elephant.  Dasara Festival is an ancient tradition of the city of Mysore and attracts millions of people every year. 

Helpful links:

More information about Shiva.

Tandava Dance

Durga

Dasara

Sunbirds of Mysore

The last time I was in Mysore five years ago, the Sunbirds used to visit. These are tiny, sprightly, cheerful birds that flit energetically around. They make chirping sounds similar to a rubber squeeze toy. They are really adorable. One time Lakshmish, the Sanskrit teacher, visited our house and he and I were chanting the Bhagavad Gita on our porch. Two Sunbirds perched on the telephone wire right in front of us and merrily chirped along with the chant.  When we switched to the Yoga Sutras, which doesn't have a rhythmic structure, they looked at each other and clearly chirped, "Okay, we're outta here", and they flew off.

I love the Sunbirds, and on Monday, June 30, I was hanging laundry on the rooftop clothesline and saw four of them flitting around a nearby treetop. I watched them for a few moments and then a male perched on a pipe just a few feet away from me and chirped and sang to me. I felt that he was welcoming me to Mysore, and it made me very happy to finally get close enough to one to get a really good look. They're so small and so fast it's hard to really see them.

Here's a link to a Wiki article about them, but it doesn't convey their personality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple-rumped_Sunbird

Hip and Groin Pain - Related to Your Sticky Mat?

Recently I shared an article on our Facebook Page, http://yogainternational.com/article/view/yoga-mats-are-they-really-necessary. Among other issues, the article asks whether using sticky mats is causing or aggravating hip and groin pain among yoga practitioners.

I began experiencing unusual pain and tightness in my right hip about two years ago. At first I attributed the sensations to having hit that hip hard in a motorcycle accident forty years ago, hard enough to create a permanent dent in my quadriceps, although it has never bothered me until recently.  In the past year the sensations have become more intense. At first it was a feeling of tightness in a few poses, like Parivritta Parsvakonasana, to soreness in the groin area that felt like a labrum tear, and then to painful "catching" sensations when going into and coming out of some poses, or just standing up after sitting.  Padmasana, which I've practiced easefully for decades, began to be downright painful after just a few minutes of sitting.  I also began to have hip pain at night in bed.

One day as I was watching students in the Mysore class, it struck me as being odd, and I wondered, "How did it come about that we are all practicing yoga on these plastic and rubber rectangles?"  The next day a yoga teacher I know in Nashville posted the article on her Facebook page.  Upon reading it I realized that my hip and groin problems started shortly after I acquired a new yoga mat, a rubber mat with an ultra non-skid surface. The article theorized that the stickiness of yoga mats allows the practitioner to go deeper into poses without isometrically engaging to maintain stability of the feet.  The sticky mat allows us to "hang" in the poses, putting more stress on the supporting muscles and tendons around the hip joints.

I decided to try an experiment and use only my cloth Mysore mat for standing poses to force myself to engage more.  I emailed Ramanand Patel and sent him the link to the article and asked him about it. He suggested I stop using the mat. He reminded me of the importance of practicing Trikonasana, Parsvakonasana, and the revolved form of both poses, plus Ardha Chandrasana every day, especially keeping the weight on the back leg.

I passed this advice along to three other students who had previously talked to me about their persistent hip, groin and upper thigh pain.  After about three weeks, one student told me her leg is much better after she stopped using her rubber mat, and another student told me her hip pain went completely away after switching mats.

If you are experiencing persistent hip, groin or upper thigh pain, and you are using a very sticky type of mat, like a rubber mat, I suggest you try a not-so-sticky mat or a cloth mat for a few weeks and see if you feel a difference.  As for me, my hip is much better.  In addition to changing mats and paying more attention to staying engaged in the standing poses, I've also added more poses to my daily practice to strengthen the hip muscles: squats, more Virasana, and holding standing poses for longer periods.  My hip feels nearly normal. On Sundays I play the harmonium for the hour-long Guru Gita chant.  At the end of the chant on Sunday, I realized this was the first time in over a year that I played the entire chant sitting in the same position without any discomfort at all.

When Sharath taught here in Louisville in 2003, we took him for a cruise on the Belle of Louisville, and he really enjoyed it. He laughed and said that next time we will do the workshop on the boat. I pointed out that it would be hard to balance on the Belle, but he said that would be okay.  It reminded me of something David Swenson said once, that one should be able to practice on almost any surface.  Perhaps that's something we need to contemplate.  Are we too dependent on having to have just the right mat, just the right yoga clothes, etc..?